MERMAIDS & OTHER MYTHICAL CREATURES

the workroom. Heather Ross’ new fabric line, ‘Mendocino’, features mermaids, octopi, sea horses and fish swimming across colourful oceans of fabric. Twenty eight bolts of this line will be arriving in the shop next week. Perhaps I went a little overboard, but these prints are too cute!

In order to lure the mythical readers of this blog to reveal themselves, I’m having my first contest! Up for grabs is a sweet stack of eight fat quarters of the Mendocino line. Eight fat quarters equals lots of mermaid fun for the winner.

Here are the details – leave a comment on this post between now and September 19th midnight with your name and tell me what your favourite mythical creature is and why. Don’t forget to include your email address (it doesn’t get published) so that I can contact you if you win. I’ll draw a name and announce the winner on September 22.

121 Comments

great idea. so glad you started the workroom. my fave mythical creature would have to be the unicorn. my little girls are obsessed with them and are constantly on the lookout for them whenever we go the country or to farms. they always end up as part of their imaginary plays. mermaids are at the top of the list too as they are usually mermids when we go to a pool and at bathtime. thanks.

My favorite mythical creature has to be the dragon. I’m currently reading the Dragonriders of Pern series and I think that they are really cool and amazing creatures.

I would have to go with the gryphon.. half bird half lion..very regal. Though most of the time I guess you find them on crests and things looking all fierce the image that sticks out in my mind is the one in Alice in Wonderland where the gryphon is all curled up like a cat sleeping.

My favorite mythical creature has to be the mermaid. (How convenient, eh?) I used to love unicorns when I was little, and dragons are pretty groovy too, but mermaids steal my heart because I love the ocean. Mythical creatures are the only thing I can draw, by the way.

I would go with the gargoyle style dragons. I once wanted to get a tattoo of one sitting on my shoulder.

I’d have to go with the leprechaun (no, I’m not Irish). I like the idea of little guys in green suits hoarding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. While looking a rainbow, my eight year olds were convinced they could see the shine from the pot of gold. “Look, mom. Over there by that tree!” Gnomes are close relatives, and also well-loved.

my favorite mythical creature is the pegasus or the dog/dragon thing from ‘the never ending story’.

two of my favorites are: the phoenix and mermaids.
i like the phoenix because i always saw its ability to be reborn as something hopeful. i like the fact that its tears have healing capabilities. AND because dumbledore had a phoenix for a pet 😀 and the old x-men animated series wouldn’t have been as interesting if jean grey didn’t come back as the phoenix 😀
as for mermaids, there was always something so mysterious and beautiful about them. having read the real version of the little mermaid (by hans christian andersen) as a child, i was able to appreciate mermaids more.
(btw, if you haven’t, you should read it karyn because it is COMPLETELY different from the disney version. but aside from that, the little mermaid still remains as my favorite animated film, which is also the first disney movie i have ever seen).

It’s a bit of a stretch to count the first character that came to my mind in the mythical creature category: it’s Snuffleupagus, from Sesame Street! I just have such found memories of watching that show as a kid (and still have a Muppet obsession). He wasn’t my favorite character necessarily, but I always just felt so bad that nobody believed Big Bird when he tried to explain about Snuffy’s existence!

Thank you for holding this contest!
Faeries are, by far, my favorite mythical creature.
These quick, bright and mischevious ‘little people’ have long been a source of intrigue for me. It is, I believe, their acute awareness of the natural world and their acceptance of the natural order of things that has fascinated me since childhood.

hi everyone!

it’s so nice to hear from you, and i’m totally impressed with your mythical creatures… i was thinking along the lines of big foot and the loch ness monster, but you guys headed straight for classics – gryphon, phoenix and unicorn. love it! keep ’em coming.

jennifer – along the lines of snufflefupagus, how about polka roo from the polka dot door?

Karyn – I did TOTALLY think of the Polkaroo as well, but felt like I’d already gone too far out on a limb with Snuffleupagus!

They are supposed to be keepers of the garden and home, but I think my home gnome has a drinking habit, as nothing seems to get done around the house. Other interesting gnome facts from wiki: In Iceland, gnomes are so respected that roads are re-routed around areas said to be inhabited by them. Also, gnomes are often the target of pranks, known collectively as gnoming or gnome hunting. People have been known to return garden gnomes “to the wild”, most notably France’s “Front de Liberation des Nains de Jardins” and Italy’s “MALAG” (Garden Gnome Liberation Front).

I do participate in a bit of gnome hunting myself, but only of the photographic kind.

i like unicorns because they’re magical. they also remind me of my lil’ pony – i loved their plastic smell when they first come out of the box.

centaurs are pretty cool too. it reminds me of newton from the old ‘the mighty hercules’. my sister and i used to watch it every morning at 5am. i can still replay that half man-half horse play that flute instrument thing. 😐

i also really like seahorses because they look so delicate and pretty. horses rule and so do animals who live in the water – so yay seahorses!

I like Harpies from Greek mythology. They have the faces of women and the bodies of vultures. They carry away the souls of the dead. Very gothic I know but I draw a lot of monsters and these are some of my favorite…though not big sellers…Hmmm I wonder why??

My favourite mythical creatures are elves, specifically the ones the sewed the shoes for the shoemaker!

Well, I’m partial to my country’s literary history: I love the «Tágides», the nymphs of the river Tejo (the river of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal). They are invocated in our national epic poem, «The Lusíadas» (16th century), in order to provide the poet (Camões) with inspiration.

My favourite mythical creature would be the unicorn. I always loved the way that they were described in books down to the very last erethral detail. It made them seem so magical.

[…] mermaid collection by Heather Ross is still on until Friday September 19th midnight. Just go to the original contest posting and leave a comment, telling me your favourite mythical creature and why. There have been so many […]

I love the mermaid….spent many hours as a child dreaming of the possibility of living in the water as well as on land. Decided when I was young that when I left the water I would turn into a child so I could live in both worlds 🙂
thanks for retrieving the memories for me! I am sure I will think about this all day today! Live was simpler as a child!!!!
Kathie

My favorite mythical creature is the woodland fairy. It certainly isn’t the most exotic mythical creature, but for me it is definitely the one that is closest to my heart. When I walk through forests and see the moss and lichen–I like to imagine woodland fairies making homes amid the dew and the fallen leaves and branches.Forests are such magical places–imagining woodland fairies seems totally plausible when you’re surrounded by dappled light and grand trees.

Angelune here – in the spirit of the mermaids and sea creatures, i’ll say the giant squid! a.k.a. the Kraken! I’ve been enamoured with sea creatures lately, as you can tell by my crocheted buddies. I like squids and octopus, seahorses, starfish, etc. But the idea of a giant squid, especially one that would fight a sperm whale, gives me the heebie jeebies!

Loch Ness Monster. Definitely.

There you are, picnicking in the Scottish Highlands, listening to bagpipes drift across a foggy green field near a lake, then WHOOOOOMP. A dinosaur emerges and, terrified, you throw a haggis at it. It dives down again. Never to be seen for another ten years.

Damn, where was your camera?

There are a couple of mythical creatures that I find particularly endearing. The Gryphon, mostly because of its similarity to my last name. And also its ability to kick ass and fly (which, incidently, is the superpower I would most like to have).
The other is the Pegasus.The flight thing comes into play again, also it has golden wings. And I am currently, after years of dedication to silver, experiencing a love of all things golden. Also Pegasus came from Medusa who is awesome and can turn people to stone just by looking at them (which is the superpower my evil twin would most like to have).

I love the site and check it daily!! I only wish I were in town so that I could stop by and chat.

My favourite mythical creature is the unicorn. This is because of the movie “The Last Unicorn”. I saw this movie as a child and it has stuck with me ever since – whether it is the animation style, the rich characters, or the underlying themes of seeking out reality in amongst the illusions of the world. The unicorn is one of the only characters that is faithful to her true existence in the story.

It seems that every few years I am brought back to this story and how much it meant to me in my childhood. Thanks for making that happen again!

Tinkerbell has always delighted me. And to be able to fly – I’d love that!

oh, the phoenix, for sure. who doesn’t want a soemthing magical to swoop in and save you when you really need it. i certainly do. now that i think about it, fairy-god-mother would probably be a close second:)

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He died before I could know him but was the most important figure in my mum’s life. I grew up hearing stories of him and having his favourite hymns sung to me. The stories always made him seem larger than life– and he actually was larger than anyone else I knew as a kid– well over 6 feet and 250 pound; a big Irish cop in Windsor Ontario.

As a teenager, I inherited a sweater my mum had knit for him which is so large that it comes down to my knees. The yarn in the sweater is a motley pattern of oranges and greens, so I’ve always called it The Carrot Cake Sweater. I can’t count the number of nights when I’ve fallen asleep wrapped up in it. The sweater stands for what I never really experienced and can never know of the man who was my grampa. But even though he died when I was a super little girl, he was always so fully a part of my internal landscape as a child. That’s why I think of him as a mythical creature– larger than life, as centrally important as imagination itself, and like all really good “make believe”, a really vital part of helping me understand and navigate reality.

I’d have to say the mermaid … maybe they seem even more mythical to me since I don’t swim! 🙂 Was at the Workroom for the first time a few weeks ago – great place! I live in Waterloo but wish I lived closer so I could take some of your classes!

I love mermaids, but my favorite mythical creates are fairies. There was a series of illustrations called flower fairies and I bought some prints to decorate my daughter’s bedroom. So pretty.

The chupacabra! Because it’s so outrageous!!!

OK, here goes. My favorite would have to be the Mermule. What, you’ve never heard of a Mermule?? Well, they are the sure-footed, silly, long-eared cousin on the merhorse (completely different than a seahorse, a merhorse has, of course, the front of a horse and the tail end of a fish.) On our farm, we had mules, not horses so my mom carved a Mermule, using a vintage ceramic aquarium decoration as the base for it to drift upon and together we made it a shell chariot and white harness to pull around the sea floor!

My favorite mythical creature would have to be the satyr — probably because I’ve been reading The Faerie Queene too recently!

Hmm, my favorites all seemed to center around water: mermaids of course, then naiads or water nymphs and finally Nimue, the Lady of the Lake in the King Arthur mythos. Oddly enough I’m not an excellent swimmer, but I love looking at the ocean. 🙂

My favorite mythical creature is Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse mythology 🙂

I have always liked unicorns, and the rainbows that go with them. I still have the crewel picture my gram stitched me 20-some years ago hanging in my craft room, which I get teased about a lot. And someday the pretty stained-glass unicorn in a meadow with a rainbow my mom made 20-some years ago as well will have a nice window to hang in again! Unicorns are just so cute, and they can never be evil, which you can’t say about a lot of other creatures!

My all-time favorite is the Jackalope! It’s kind of become an inside joke with my husband and I, but our entire visit to Colorado last year was spent looking for these elusive creatures!

I love the Loch Ness Monster. I just love imagining that Nessy is our fabulous Scottish underwater ally. Perhaps if we were quiet enough, Nessy would come to the surface and give us a ride and a snorgle!

oooo, the chupacabra, I used to be able to make my kids do anything if I told them the chupacabra was gonna get them. Just kidding, sort of.

I think that the Sirens are fascinating mythical creatures. To sing a song so beautiful that sailors are drawn from miles around, to be hauntingly attractive yet so callous without clear motivation… as I said, fascinating. Plus, I love the portrayal of the sirens in _O Brother, Where Art Thou_, as well as the Alison Krauss song that they sing. 🙂

My fave is mermaids! I have always loved them. When I was little, whenever people would ask me what I wanted to be when I gorw up, my answer was always “a mermaid!”
A close 2nd is the Jackalope. I love bunnies and anything with antlers 🙂 Once someone gave me a postcard with a “photo” of a jackalope on it and I said “oh! I thought they were fake!”… haven’t quite lived that one down yet.

My favorite is the Jackalope. I see someone posted about it already, but it is the best! I have a jackalope piggy bank that I bought at Wall Drug in South Dakota. If I wasn’t opposed to hanging dead animal parts on my wall I would totally buy a jackalope head to mount somewhere. I don’t think I could take it though. Bummer!

Anywho, great give away!

The phoenix for sure. What a great image… plus you get the whole comic book connection. Also, any animal + antlers. That falls less into the “mythical creature” category than into the “adorable things that don’t exist” group. though.

I have to say the most interesting sea creature story I have features the jellyfish which isn’t mythical but I’m sure my poor aunt wishes it were! I guess I’m going to have to pick the mermaid or more likely the manatee that was mistaken for one.

Fairys of course are my favorite mythical creatures. So delicate in looks yet so powerful in spells and mystery. Both beautiful and frightening at the same time.

Mine would have to be Pegasus. I love the idea of a flying horse the combination of speed and flight in one.

karyn, could i also add the tooth fairy? even though i never got any money under my bed as a kid, i still believed in it. and i liked the idea of getting something in exchange for something that gave you so much grief (a wiggly tooth). i never believed in santa, because in the philippines there were no fireplaces or chimneys for santa to slide down in.
i would also like to add the three kings. there’s this belief that if you leave your shoes out during the christmas season, they will leave candy or money or some kind of other treat in your shoe. i would gladly leave ALL my shoes out for fabric 🙂

Ilove the bigfoot. Especially since I raised a big foot son. He wears size 17 shoes and is fondly nicknamed “my favorite bigfoot”

I bought the shoes, so I figured it gave me the right.

Geezz… I can see why this fabric collection is going to be such a success!!
When I was little, altough neither my mom or my sister were very mithological, I used to dream of unicorns and fairies. But, maybe related to our own national (Portugal) fiction-mithology (Lusiadas – yes, Tagides from the river and mermaids in the see), my nickname during my first internet-chatroom years was Sereia (mermaid). And instead of saying goodbye, I would write *splassssshhh* 😉 Still miss that sometimes eheh.

So I would have to say that I am all about elves….not believing in them, just seeing them in print makes me happy! There is something about their shoes…CUTE! And this fabric is scrumptious!

Calipso. Because the “Odissea” was my favorite read as a teenager.

Definitely dragons! This is because I was born in the year of the dragon per the Chinese horoscope; and according to the Chinese culture, dragons represent auspicious power. Two good reasons why I love having jewellery with the dragon images! Oh, and did I mention that I am of Chinese heritage? Hehe.
Thanks Karyn!

My favourite are faeries…there are two faerie rings on my parent’s rural property and they totally captured my imagination as a child. But, my daughter’s favourite are mermaids!

I don’t know that I have ever thought much about mythical creatures. I do love the look of mermaids though.

so hard to choose! but i heart faeries! can’t wait for my daughter’s bday in Nov as I have succesfully talked her into a faery party as opposed to ANOTHER princess party. I do also love nessie, and we shouldn’t forget the Liger 😉

My favorite mystical creature is the unicorn. I loved unicorns since I was a little girl.

Pegasus is my favorite…who wouldn’t want to fly and ride a horse at the same time.

I’d have to go with Gorgons (Medusa being one). I love the crazy snake hair and the gaze that turns people to stone. They have so many good representations in art and literature throughout Western history. Plus, I was kind of obsessed with Clash of the Titans when I was a kid… I’ve probably seen it 20 times. Eek.

That is an intringuing and tough question. I love mermaids. But I also like the strenght image from dragons and the idea of resilience of the phoenix. But I’ll stick with dragons right now. Maybe it’s my moment… 🙂

In the giant realm of mythology and creatures I certainly love the Phoenix. However, when thinking more locally I certainly have to go with the Yetis that populate northern Wisconsin (among other places). 😉

when i was reading through these and saw Jennifer’s snuffleupagus, i HAD to agree with her! brilliant choice, Jennifer

I like mermaids, but I think I like mermen better. Come on, King Triton from the Little Mermaid?!? Amazing.

I don’t remember the story in detail but I always enjoyed the asian myth of rabbits that live on the moon making rice cakes. I have no idea how this myth came about, but bunnies are cute and rice cakes are yummy. And I bet living on the moon is good fun. thank you for the contest!

My favorite mythical creature are gnomes, specifically the yard gnome variety, although the Lord of the Rings variety are cool, too.

My favorite new mythical creature is the Kraken, which my son and I discovered in a fish book from the library. He is so enthralled with the Kraken, that when he took a bath later that night he said, “Can the Kraken come through the drain?”

As for old mythical creature, I do want believe that the Loch Ness monster is out there and that he is terribly sweet. Kind of like Puff the Magic Dragon for the water set.

[…] at True Up put up a posting about my Mendocino fat quarter contest. I wanted to say hello! to everyone who is visiting for the first time, I’m overwhelmed by […]

I’m a big fan of the Sirens from Greek mythology. Instead of using their bodies (which are half human and half bird) to seduce seamen, they use their voices and musical talent. And they’re probably pretty feisty, considering they seduce people only to shipwreck them.

My favorite has to be the faerie. I have always picture small “people” in the grass, -a minityre world like ours only tiny and cute…

My fave would be a unicorn!! I love horses and unicorns are just majestic and mystical!

When I saw this post I immediately thought of the Wild Things from the book by Maurice Sendak. More fictional than mythical, but I’ve loved them since I was a child and always wanted to join them in a wild rumpus! I also love faeries, probably because of a children’s version of A Midsummernight’s Dream I had as a child. I find myself telling my daughter all kinds of things about faeries, how they turn flowers inside out to drink tea and the different kinds of moss are for their soft beds.

Mine would have to be fairy godmothers. Ever since reading Cinderella I have been enamoured by the idea – imagine a kindred spirit that could simultaneously supply me with the perfect dress, a charming mode of transportation AND fabulous shoes? That’s my favourite, hands down!

Medusa comes to mind. I first read about her when I was very young and was enamored with the picture I created in my mind of a head full of snakes. I thought it she beautiful and still do. I started sketching pictures of her. I should see if my mom still has any of those drawings.

Thanks for your amazing store. I look forward to seeing what you are all up to on flickr and your blog. I’m watching longingly from Nevada.

Mythical creatures that I find intersting are the Thestrals from Harry Potter. You can only see them if you have witnessed death.

My daughter told me to say Unicorn. Obviously that is her favorite.

My favourite mythical creature would have to be dragons (cliche I know). I have always really liked lizards and bats and things little girls aren’t supposed to like, so I love dragons (or the idea of them) too!

My first favorite mythical creature was the Loch Ness monster–the first book I ever remember picking out for myself in the Scholastic catalog was about the search for Nessie. But now that I find myself married to a Bigfoot-believer, well… I’m fond of nonmythical creatures now. 🙂

My favorite mythical creatures are gnomes 🙂

The cabbage ape is one of my faves (AKA bigfoot). What’s not to love?

At our house, the favorite mythical creature is the mermaid!

My oldest daughter, now eight years old, fell in love with mermaids when she was about three. First it was Disney’s Ariel…then on to other mermaids in books, movies, pictures. She was hooked! I’ve made several “fin” mermaid skirts for her as she’s grown, and soft-sculpture mermaid dolls for her. She took up swimming so that she could play in the water like a mermaid, and is one of the strongest swimmers in her age group as a result. She still loves mermaids with a passion.

Over the years everyone in the family has gotten “in the swim” and now we’re all mermaid fans. Her little sister inherited all those too-small mermaid skirts and now we have dress-up mermaid parties with those dolls!

My favourite mythical creature is Safiya’s first imaginary friend: a mama tyrannosaurous rex (she has eyelashes, so she’s a girl t-rex, obviously). I don’t think dinosaurs had eyelashes, so this is definitely a mythical creature.

mermaids are this years fave. i used to be into fairies…

Great contest–I love this line! I’ve always been fascinated by mythology and folklore, so it’s hard to choose a favorite mythical creature. Even though I really love the idea of faeries, I think I have to say shapeshifters, like the Kitsune of Japan or even werewolves and vampires. The whole idea of being able to change your form and shape at will is utterly fascinating to me; that you could be part of the human experience while also knowing what it’s like to have a fox’s quick reflexes and night vision, or a bat’s flight, or what have you.

My favorite mythical creature is the unicorn. Second is the mermaid. Thank you for having this contest. Take care and God bless, Cory

I am interested in the Barometz, also called the Lamb of Tartary. It’s a plant in the shape of a lamb that has a fleece and stands on four of five root stalks. It lives by consuming other plants growing around it. I think it’s pretty cool and I like the idea that it’s a plant resembling an animal.

When I was 12 or 13 I loved the aliens from Alien/Aliens. Still to this day I love monsters, they’re scary and fascinating. So, I’ll add to the list dragons and Pumpkinhead (if anyone remembers that movie). Cheers!

Well, I would have to go with mermaids.
The Mendocino line is fantastic! So unique, so fun!
(I just found out about your blog and your contest and I’m hoping that since it is 11:08 in my time zone that I can still qualify.)

i couldn’t even read all the entries. did someone already say the kraken? it’s pretty awesome and in some myths, furry. i know i can’t win your gift but wanted to congratulate you on your blog famousness and say that i miss you.

I was intriged by how stephenie meyer portayed them in her novels and i’ve always thought of vampires as bad “people” but after reading about Edward and Jacob I fell in love with both creatures.

My favorite creature would either be a vampire or a mermaid.
I agree with Felicia, Stephanie Meyer has definately made vampires amazing. Being the hotties they are its hard not to like them. Also they dont seem sinister in her books, they are great.
And mermaids because im in love with the ocean and they are so beautiful.

I so love werewolves.I am so obssed with them.they totally rock.some people think im weird cause im a girl and i love boy stuff.

I didn’t know what they are called but they are women who reel men into their death with song. Most stories of these women have happenend out at sea, to lonely fisher men. To be able to loure a man in that easily would make finding a significant other a lot easier for all women and it wouldn’t cost anything like those dating services do.
if anyone knows what i’m talking about and the name of these creatures please let me know. by the way, my all time favorite mythical creature would have to be Animal from “The Muppet Show”. he is loving, cute, wild, clueless and funny all at the same time